Narcissistic leaders are more likely to oppose remote work and favor return-to-office mandates.

Study finds narcissism the only trait that predicted objections to remote work. The higher the opinions of themselves leaders expressed, the more they coveted power and status — the more they favored return-to-office mandates. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html

“Case by case, there may be good reasons for teams to work together in person. As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. It’s a signature strategy of leaders who exhibit narcissistic qualities. They see any kind of remote work as a threat to their authority and admiration. They want to be worshiped at the office altar.” https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

The Secret Reason Bosses Want Everyone Back in the Office, Every Day of the Week Case by case, there may be good reasons for teams to work together in person. As a general rule, though, it turns out that ordering people back to the office full time is a power and status move. The only trait that consistently predicted objections to #remotework was narcissism — the tendency to be self-centered and entitled https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html https://archive.ph/QpMio #WFH #RTO